Responding to a TOEFL iBT integrated speaking task: Mapping task demands and test takers' use of stimulus content

Abstract

Integrated speaking tasks requiring test takers to read and/or listen to stimulus texts and to incorporate their content into oral performances are now used in large-scale, high-stakes tests, including the TOEFL iBT. These tasks require test takers to identify, select, and combine relevant source text information to recognize key relationships between source text ideas, and to organize and transform information. Despite being central to evaluations of validity, relationships between stimulus content, task demands, and the oral discourse produced by test takers are yet to be empirically scrutinized to an adequate degree. In this study, we focus on a TOEFL iBT reading–listening–speaking task, ..